BOOKS himself a wholly new existence It is the ment ofF eferman' s book to make this am- biguity compellingly lucid. TIKE piloting jet fighters, mathemati- L callogic is a young man's game. The mental concentration required is consum- ing The muscles of the mind are stretched to the breaking point as the practitioner lasers in on questions that are of the utmost formality and abstruseness but at the same time go to the heart of rea- son and underpin the construct of math- ematics and of logical deduction as a whole. Kurt Gödel was in his early twen- ties when he proposed his famous prin- ciple of incompleteness, which many feel to have been the most significant step in logical thought since Descartes. It may well be that mathematical logicians of the first order, like chess prodigies, are born rather than made. For a man to return to higher mathematics and mathematical logic when he has abandoned any com- merce with them since his school days is almost unheard o and for such a man to contribute signally to the history of his field is unique. However, supported by Bunny and by a teaching assistantship, van Heijenoort obtained his Ph.D. in the distinguished Mathematics Department of New York University. Working on the geometry of convex surfaces, he kept fiercely to himself. For a considerable time, not even his closest colleagues or the students whom he began teaching had the slightest intimation of his past. Gradually, Jean moved into the field of mathemati- callogic. (It may have been too late for him to be a pure mathematician of cre- ative rank.) After two decades at N.Y.U., he was appointed to a post at Brandeis. Later years found him regularly at Stanford. Solomon Feferman, himself a distinguished mathematical logician, pro- VIdes a scholarly précis of van Heijenoort's publications at the close of his wife's book. Forty-three reviews by Jean appeared in The Journal of Symbolic Logic. He wrote a cogent analysis of Bertrand Russell's famous paradox of 1901 for the Encyclopedia of Philosophy. A second article for this encyclopedia dealt with Gödel's incom- pleteness theorems. These issues are cen- tral to modern mathematics and to the taxing question of whether mathematics can, finally, be reduced to axiomatic logic. Together, they pointed directly to van Heijenoort's classic contribution, pub- lished in 1967: his "From Frege to Gödel: A Source Book In Mathematical Logic, 141 JJIt's the Civil War art book eve one wants this year!' -Civil War Tilnes Illustrated "A beautiful marriage of history and art by two authors whose erudition and flair for incisive analysis provide the reader with both pleasure and instruction. The unique blend of narrative and art appreciation makes the book a must for all who wish to understand the remarkable cultural heritage of the Civil War." -James McPherson, author of Battle Cn) of Freedom winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory The Clvll WaF in Art With 250 full-color and 35 black- and-white illustrations $60.00 nowatyollr bookstore, or call 1-800-733-3000 to ordel by phone. " , J ]0 . I I I, r E. ,.. I þ: ** * i A ember .fThe awn b Ish- " "( Call us to order any book in print! II AN ARTIST- ADVENTURER" - Wall Street Journal ALL AUTHORS · ALL TITLES · ALL SUBJECTS Free shipping on US orders over $20 Free gift wrapping - Gift certificates available Fast and friendly - we serve readers worldwide! << ... fi.. ft \ } t .. , .. i 4' " , . $ I: i ,- y N'\. t "f , ...... -. t " .. : . ."" /. .", : BookBound 800-959- READ i .... Worldwide: 516-324-1518 Fax: 516-324-2846 PO Box 2376, East Hampton, NY 11937 %--. 1 , <! .J '.', \^' '''1> ,,>d- ' ':.* ",.... -::: , < .. . ... ) ... ",'A> .ç.- t - '... . . , .a: 7 . \ > .., .... -r \ ' . . .. . "\ <. /iff " A" ...:\\ GALEN ROWELL S VISION The Art of Adventure Photography ;.. "",) 4' THE IBIS COLLECTION q \... Fwibited 'It the Smlth"oOlan. .\tnerican arti t I\.en Kantro ,', ., interprets the timeless be1ut\ of dolphins. TIIF IBI' COLI.EClIO\ no'\\ offers ,ou this handcrafted P in signed 51 0l11l 1 3 b, the artist. Sterling \õ;ih er $-+8. "" actual sl_e 1 -+1\. gold, enneil $96. 'tatchin earrings and pendant a, aiable. IBI G \I LER\. .\ Collection Of Fine Handcrafts P.O. 80\. 280 Cedar h.e). FL 32625 (90...) 5-13-5060 \11 III Ilor en.dil ( 1rI1, or h\ ellce!.. \dd' .,0 '\11 FL n....'dcOI, Idd ...tlc' 1.1\ '-1I"f.leIIOO \:1111"'1111(( I By Galen Rowell FOREWORD BY Steve Werner Bright red felt. groon fteece leaves. WIth lots of room for stocking stllfersl S14.95 plus SI H (Qty. dlscOLnts ovalable) 1-800-684-4332 O"Ieck/M 0 /MC/VIso/AE accepted IJrth of a Nollon. Co.. he \ -0 <Y ð è5 At flne bookstores A SIERRA CLUB BOOK